John Oliver Explains Why We've Got Our Own Brexit Coming in Fast

John Oliver warned us last week about the impending Brexit, and he was back for more last night. England's vote to leave the European Union looks every bit the catastrophic decision that Oliver (and plenty of others) said it would be. But the outcome of the vote says as much about the future of Western politics, in general, as it does about the future value of the pound.

Most signs point to this being a reactionary attack on the status quo as much as a reasoned decision with Britain's future in mind. While real, adult humans hopped on British TV in the run-up to bleat about how Britons are sick of "experts," Oliver pointed out that huge numbers of them waited until after the polls closed to Google questions like, "What is the European Union?" It seems that far too many people aren't only uninterested in hearing from experts, they aren't interested in knowing anything at all about what they're talking about. They voted to leave because they're unhappy with the way things are, without any regard for what would actually result.

Obviously, this is what you might call a teachable moment for those of us here in the United States. We're alarmingly close to electing someone who is riding on a wave of frustration and fury at the current political and economic order, a toxic brand of xenophobic nationalism, and, above all, misinformation. A vote for Donald Trump is, like a vote for the Brexit, a way to lash out at the status quo—a change for the sake of change. We would do well to make sure the new thing is also the better thing.